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AEI This Week

AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most

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Trump’s GOP Is Losing Independents

November 8, 2025

On Tuesday, Democrats scored big wins in New Jersey, Virginia, and other state and local races across the country. In his first column as a new contributor for The Wall Street Journal, AEI Domestic Policy Studies Director Matthew Continetti details how Republicans lost support—and why they cannot afford to ignore the affordability crisis if they want to have any chance in 2026 or 2028.

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Candidates across the country—win or lose—accepted the election results, a vindication of the United States’ free and fair voting process. Writing in The American Enterprise, election administration expert John C. Fortier highlights how states have strengthened the integrity and efficiency of our elections since 2000 and notes the work left to do.

 

The inflation generated by the president’s protectionist policies certainly hurt Republican candidates. On Wednesday, the court heard oral arguments on the tariffs’ legality. Adam J. White assesses the legal issues at stake and predicts how the court will resolve the case.

 

One of the most dangerous trends in American politics is the growing presence of antisemites and white supremacists on the right. Writing in National Review, Robert P. George explains why conservatives must always stand against these views.

 

Recent Republican gains among working-class Hispanic and black voters were also reversed in this week's elections. AEI President Robert Doar offers his thoughts on this trend and others after spending Election Day in New York City.

 

On Monday, the United States and AEI lost a leader, patriot, and friend with the passing of Vice President Richard Cheney. Read reflections from AEI scholars on his service to our country and his longtime contributions as a scholar and trustee to the work of our Institute.

 

The Unheavenly City Revisited

 

Edward C. Banfield was one of the most significant social scientists of the 20th century. In 2024, AEI Press republished his first book, Government Project, and on November 18, AEI Press is publishing a new edition of his 1974 magnum opus, The Unheavenly City Revisited, with a foreword from Kevin R. Kosar. Banfield’s book empirically evaluated the health of America’s cities and highlighted the failure of billions in government spending to meaningfully address the problems it was designed to alleviate. His documentation of the unintended consequences of government action inspired generations of neoconservative scholarship and continues to provide valuable lessons to policymakers today.

More from AEI

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Can Secretary Hegseth Deliver the Acquisition Revolution the Pentagon Has Dodged for Decades?

William C. Greenwalt | AEIdeas

 

Trump–Xi: 12/10 Meeting, 12/100 Deal

Derek Scissors | AEIdeas

 

How Environmental Virtue Signaling Starves the Poor

James Pethokoukis | Faster, Please!

 

A Big Night for Democrats

Ruy Teixeira et al. | The Liberal Patriot

PODCASTS AND VIDEOS

Entitlement Reform: A Problem We Can No Longer Avoid

James C. Capretta | The American Idea

 

Hormones, Ideology, and the Cost of Dissent

Carole Hooven | Conversations with Coleman

 

Should Congress Pass a Balanced-Budget Amendment to the Constitution?

Kevin R. Kosar and Kurt Couchman | Understanding Congress

 

Lessons from Pandemic-Era Tutoring

Nat Malkus and Liz Cohen | The Report Card with Nat Malkus

 

Is Europe Lost? Adam O’Neal Explains.

Danielle Pletka et al. | What the Hell Is Going On?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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Vice President Cheney recognized that AEI needed to always be engaged in the fight for freedom—that our scholarship cannot stay confined to an ivory tower apart from the urgent political conflicts of the day. For decades we benefited from his perspective, and I know that his principles and his example of service will continue to guide us for decades to come.

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—Robert Doar

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American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research 
 Robert Doar, President 


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